NSE All-Share Index Rises 0.12% as Market Rebounds

After one day of negative performance the stock market
rebounded yesterday as the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI)
gained 0.12 per cent to close at 32,453.69 compared with a decline of 15 per
cent. Market capitalisation added N14.0 billion to close at N12.1 trillion.

The market had on Wednesday depreciated due to profit taking
after days of rally that led to a gain of about 6.7 per cent since the
beginning of February.

However, the market rebounded yesterday as 22 stocks
appreciated. Associated Bus Company Plc and Livestock Feeds Plc with 10 per
cent apiece. Unity Bank Plc trailed with 9.6 per cent, just as Unilever Nigeria
Plc. Wema Bank Plc went up by 6.7 per cent, while PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc
chalked up 5.4 per cent.

PZ Cussons has been attracting more demand following
restatement of its commitment to remain in the country. Contrary to speculations,
the company said it had no plan to leave Nigeria, stressing that the country
still remained a market of interest for it. Chief Executive Officer of PZ
Cussons , Mr. Christos Giannopoulos, said the company would be celebrating 120
years of PZ Cussons making life better and adding value to Nigerians.

“In our 120 years of doing business in Nigeria, we have faced
different conditions and come out stronger at the end. We confirm to our
consumers, customers, employees, business partners and stakeholders that
Nigeria still remains a market of interest for us and have made no plans to
leave Nigeria . Our factories in Ikorodu, Aba and all our distribution centres
around the country are operational and will continue to be,” he said.

Conversely, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc led the price losers
with 8.3 per cent, trailed by Oando Plc with 5.1 per cent. Dangote Flour Mills
Plc shed 4.5 per cent and Union Diagnostic went down by 3.2 per cent among
others.

In all, investors traded 422.7 million shares worth N3.7
billion, which is lower than the previous day’s performance. The most active
stocks by volume were Diamond Bank (97.6 million shares), Transcorp (41.1
million shares) and Zenith Bank (40.3 million shares) while Zenith Bank (N997.1
million), GTBank (N992.6 million) and Access Bank (N263.7 million) led in terms
of value.

In terms of sectoral performance, three out of five sectors
tracked advanced. The NSE Insurance Index led with 1.2 per cent. It was
followed by the NSE Industrial Index and NSE Consumer Goods Index with 0.7 per
cent and 0.3 per cent in that order.

On the contrarily, the NSE Oil & Gas Index and NSE
Banking Index shed 0.8 per cent and 0.5 per cent in that order.